Monday, March 17, 2008

and so it begins

hey all! I want to give you all a little background on what i'm doing here and what I hope to accomplish.

I want to help and encourage people to explore linux, trust me, give it a chance, just a few weeks and you'll be hooked. you'll never go back.

let me give you a brief history of my path to linux, years ago I heard of this free and community developed operating system, called fedora core based off of the linux kernal. I installed it on my hope computer and to my suprise it worked! my only problem.... I had no idea what to do with it. sure it was cool, but with a very limited knowledge of computers how would I ever make use of my computer? sadly... you could count the number of times i booted fedora on one hand.

I continued my interest in open source, introducing my friends and family to Firefox, trying out OpenOffice and learning about the Open Source Initiative and its effects on modern computing. yes, I loved my open source programs, atleast the ones that were compatible with windows. I wanted to try Linux, but how could I make the move? I knew I needed Itunes for my ipod, I knew that i would have to give up my loved MSN instant messenger, and what about internet, how could i browse without having basics like a flash plugin, something that could view quicktime fils, and java?

But Wait!! Linux can do all of these! finally I decided to make one small step in that direction. after building my own computer and installing windows media center, i set it up with a dual boot with Ubuntu 7.10. All of the hardware was supported from the original installation (I had to search for drivers in Windows), it connected to the internet with no problems, and best of all, it was free!

Ubuntu was great,it did everything I needed, however everytime I turned on my computer I found myself loading Windows if I was going to do anything more than browse the internet. My next big step was learning how to step out of my comfort zone. but i just couldn't do it, Windows was my weakness. Finally I decided to take action. I purchased a used laptop, without a windows license. (the seller was concerned, how could i use the computer without windows?) I installed Ubuntu, it supported all of the hardware in the original installation, including the webcam. finally I had made the jump. I started to learn the command line, I even started doing all of my homework on my laptop, (Including my C++ programming class, Code::Blocks is amazing)My transition to open source is complete.

I would like to thank the amazing community behind open source, specifically Ubuntu, for making my transition possible.

What are your stories? how did you make the move to Linux? are you still struggling? let me know!